Thieves steal ATM pin numbers from Bank of America in Mountainside

Alexandra Pais/New Jersey Local News ServiceThe Bank of America on Mountain Avenue in Mountainside where thieves used a skimming device to steal customers' ATM card information, according to police.
MOUNTAINSIDE -- Tech-savvy thieves installed an unauthorized card swipe device on an ATM at a bank herelast week and used it to steal money from customers’ accounts, police said.

The device was brazenly attached to an indoor ATM at the Bank of America on Mountain Avenue.

“You see it on TV, but you don’t expect it to actually happen in your own jurisdiction,” said Captain Richard Osieja of the Mountainside police.

Osieja said that at least five people complained to police that money was taken from their accounts.

“Apparently the device was removed before it was discovered,” Osieja said, who said it could have been in place as long as five days.

The scam is known as “skimming” by law enforcement and bank security experts.

“Usually what happens is a device is put on the outside of an ATM machine, which is called a skimmer, and they use another type of device to capture the PIN numbers,” explained U.S. Secret Service Agent-in-Charge Cindy Wofford. “They either make purchases online or they re-encode the information on other cards like a gift card or another credit card.”

Wofford said that skimmers often go unnoticed by bank employees, who usually service ATMs from the back.

Credit and debit card fraud often takes place when consumers use their cards at stores or restaurants, and employees steal their information. In December, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office charged several restaurant owners and employees with allegedly duplicating credit card numbers and charging customers for phony invoices to pay loan sharks.

According to the nonprofit Insurance Information Institute in New York, credit card fraud was to blame for 20 percent of more than 300,000 consumer complaints of identity theft filed with the Federal Trade Commission last year.

According to Wofford, there is video surveillance footage of the Bank of America ATM, but she said it may or may not be useful. The police recovered evidence from the scene, but Osieja couldn’t say what type of evidence was collected.

One Mountainside resident, who wanted to remain anonymous because of he was the victim of identity theft, said he lost more than $3,000 to the scam. He only became aware of the theft after Bank of America representatives contacted him after thieves made six withdrawals from his account, all in Illinois. The man contacted the local Mountainside branch, where he said an employee explained the fraud.

“The person said ‘Oh, yeah, there’s a bunch of people coming in,’” the customer said. “He explained to me that apparently...someone had put in a card reader into their ATM with a camera above the ATM. It read my card, but also took a picture of when I was entering my PIN number.”

Skimming devices are legal, because they can be used for security of buildings such as bank lobbies, according to Wofford.

Bank of America spokesman T.J. Crawford couldn’t comment on the specific incident, but said the company regularly inspects its ATM machines.

“We ask customers to notify the bank manager if there is anything unusual about the ATM itself or their transaction,” Crawford said.